You Shouldn't Love Him
by BewilderedFemale
Summary: Story starts during the Shippuden episode: "The Girls Get Together" Things between Neji and Hinata change after Pain destroys the hidden leave village. How will they deal with these changes?
1. Chapter 1

"**You Shouldn't Love Him" **

**This story is a Hinata & Neji pairing and takes place during/after the episode: "The Girls Get Together". Hinata is going to be slightly OOC as she will be a bit more bold than she is on the show. Neji in turn will be quite persistent with regards to her. I hope you all enjoy!**

* * *

Hinata was worried about him again and even though she wouldn't voice it aloud, she was extremely upset about the fact that it seemed like she had been the only one to not see Naruto as of late.

She had searched high and low that day in hopes that Lady Tsunade would assign her on a mission, eager to maybe cross paths with him but it had turned out to only be yet another reminder that she was not good enough when Lady Tsunade stated that the reason why she had wanted to see her was just to inform her that the decision to make Neji leader did not signify that she was weak, but it only served to solidify to Hinata that that was exactly the reason why he had been chosen instead of her. Neji was a genius, everyone knew it and she was by no means jealous of him, on the contrary; she was beyond pleased to see how far he had come not only in the physical sense, but mentally as well. He seemed to have finally made peace not only with his family, but with himself as well. This of course did not change his personality; he was still cold and somewhat severe at times and when this occurred, Hinata knew to simply stay out of his way.

Going out with the girls that evening had cheered her up considerably, and it had been quite amusing if not awkward to see Lady Tsunade in her drunken stupor clinging all over her in order to maintain the look of composure. She could feel her cheeks burning when she had leaned in and said:

"Hinata…. About what I said earlier…" The smell of sake hit her senses immediately and she knew she had to say something, anything to keep her from turning this into a huge deal. That was the last thing that Hinata wanted so she had said that it was alright, she had understood and she was fine with the final decision… Which it was but at the same time it wasn't. Luckily that seemed to do the trick because now Lady Tsunade had pulled out a bunch of pink tickets and was enthusiastically trying to get the girls to gamble. Lady Tsunade was now clinging on poor Hinata even harder. She smiled awkwardly through it all, but she suddenly felt the sensation that she was being watched, and it wasn't from the girls at the table. She looked up over Lady Tsunade's head and saw that she was right. Neji had been looking at her for quite some time and had heard everything.

It was a huge relief to Hinata's shoulder when Lady Tsunade had finally gotten up and out of the booth. She exhaled in relief and joined everyone else outside. Everyone bid their goodbye's and she swiftly followed behind Neji's quick steps. He looked behind quickly to see if she was following and saw that she was deep in thought as she looked at the ground.

"You miss him don't you?"

The question had caught her totally off guard and she hardly knew how to answer. "I… Well.."

"He has come a long way hasn't he?"

Again, she didn't answer, what was she supposed to say? Where was he going with this?"

And then he stopped completely in his tracks and turned around to face her. "I would even go as far as to say that you love him, don't you? You already demonstrated that you'd give up your life for him. Would you do that for anyone else?"

Her silver eyes grew wide and her cheeks reddened. Where the hell had this come from? She narrowed her eyes at him. "Th.. Th..That is an extremely personal question Neji san ." But he wouldn't drop the subject, he continued.

"It's pointless to love someone like him Lady Hinata. I say this for your own good, you should forget about him. I know you are grateful to him, as am I; he helped change my life, but it's a mistake to love him as you do; you will get hurt."

Hinata was already use to the severity of his demeanor and usually whenever he tried to tell her what to do, she'd just answer with a simple: "Hai" and that would be the end of it, but she just couldn't let this go. What the heck did he know about love anyway?

She took a deep breath. "I .. I thank you for your concern Neji san, but in this matter… I.. I will make my own decision." And that was all that was ever going to be said about that. She had loved Naruto for years, he had been there for her when the world had turned on her, and she'd never turn her back on that. She walked away from Neji and nothing else was said between them. He dropped her off at her house and then proceeded to his own, trying to make sense of why he had told her what he did.

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

The following morning, she met him at the usual spot where they would train, but instead of immediately getting to work. He stayed standing in front of her and looked at her for several long seconds. It made her feel a bit weird for it was very unlike him. Come to think of it he had been acting a bit off since Pain destroyed the village. "Is something the matter?" She asked him.

"You should be the one leading our clan during the war, not I." He said.

She sighed in relief, the last thing she needed was for him to bring up Naruto again.

"We all know that you are the most qualified to lead our clan Neji San. You are the most deserving of this task, and that is why we must both train as hard as we can so that you may lead and I may be strong enough to follow and protect you."

He stilled for a moment, his silver eyes growing a bit wider. "Protect me?"

"Yes, I will protect you with my life Neji." She then took her fighting stance in front of him. "So are we going to continue to talk, or are we going to fight?"  
He graced her with a small smirk and immediately took his fighting stance as well.  
They trained the entire length of the day, the sun was beginning to set and they were still fighting when they both heard voices approaching.

"Oi! How bout you guys call it a day already?"

Hinata turned and saw that it was both Tenten and Lee, but her stare particularly wandered to Tenten. It was of course no mystery about the way she felt towards her cousin, and the rumor was that those feelings were reciprocated although he never brought her up in conversation nor displayed any such public sentiment, but then again, this was Neji we were talking about. When she stopped and smiled towards them, Neji did the same except he did not smile.

"Aren't you guys hungry? Let's go get some Ramen!" Lee jumped up and down, whooping cheerfully about going to eat with his comrades yet again.

Hinata saw the way Tenten looked directly at Neji and realized that this was obviously an invitation she should step down from.

"Thank you! Tenten, but I really need to get cleaned up and then tend to some chores." She bowed towards them and then to Neji "Until Tomorrow ."

Neji continued to look towards her retreating form. "Neji?" Tenten chimed, but he seemed to be mentally debating whether he wanted to go or not as well.

"I really should be on my way as well." He finally said. But after Lee and Tenten put up loud and obnoxious scene, he decided to accompany them after all.

"You are quieter than usual today." Tenten said from her bowl of grilled pork Ramen. "You alright?"

He nodded.

"Did you and Hinata have an argument or something?" Lee asked as he slurped loudly from his own bowl.

His left eye twitched with annoyance. "It has nothing to do with Lady Hinata!"

Tenten persisted. "You sure? That seems to be the only time you seem to be like this."

Neji rolled his eyes. "That is not true." But both Tenten and Lee nodded their heads in agreement. "Yes it is." They said at the same time.

Tenten didn't say anything out loud but she had noticed the way he seemed to be following her lately. Just after Pain had destroyed the village, Hinata was one of the people who was constantly helping rehabilitate those who were injured. He would sometimes watch her help others from outside the tents when he thought nobody was looking, and during his free time he practically always spent it with her training. She had seen all of this; she always liked to keep a close watch on Neji, she cared about him deeply. Perhaps there was something wrong with Hinata that he was not allowed to speak of and he was just being protective of his cousin. Despite his cold demeanor she knew he had a very strong capability to love, and he did care about his comrades.

"Do you want to go back Neji?" She asked.

He thought about it for a moment before giving a curt nod. "Yes." He said getting up from his seat. He left a few bills behind and bowed towards them before taking his leave. They were not surprised at his lack of explanation. They both watched as his form slowly faded within the crowds.

"You think they argued again?" Lee asked.

"Yup." Tenten replied.

"They fight like a married couple." Lee said with a laugh.

"Eww, they're cousins!" Tenten replied. "There's no way it would be like that between them."

Lee lifted a bushy brow. "Really?"

Tenten huffed angrily. "You are sick Lee, they just fought about something, probably a family thing again. You know how messed up their family issues can get."

Lee sighed. "Yeah, you're probably right."

She nodded vehemently. Of course she was right, nothing other than arguments and grueling training would ever transpire between those two.


	2. Time Away

Neji had spent the remainder of the day trying to make sense of what he was feeling in his mind. Why did it bother him so much that Lady Hinata was still running around after Naruto? It never really bothered him before, perhaps it was because it was interfering with her progress.

After giving it much thought, he realized that it was because he knew the potential she held and she had been beyond reckless when she had jumped out and thrown herself into the hands of the enemy. It had been beyond reckless; suicidal was more like it. It was a miracle in itself that she was now alive and about. It was apparent that he was going to have discuss the issue with her, but he knew that she was particularly touchy when it came to such subjects so he would have to maneuver it in a way that made it appear as a form of training.

Perhaps then the tension that had mysterious crept its way within him whenever she was around would finally ease away and things would go back to the way they were before.

He was anxious to train with her that day, and as a result the day in itself had gone by incredibly slow for him. She appeared on time as usual, smiling and asking him how his day had been; she was always so kind and concerned about him.

"I've been thinking…" He began. "We are going to do a different type of training today."

She looked at him curiously just like he knew she would, it was amazing how well he knew her.

"Oh? okay.." She replied as her fingers unconsciously fiddled nervously with one another.

"Mental training." He continued.

Her eyebrows rose to her hairline.

"Please come here Lady Hinata." He said as he sat down crossed legged on the grass and patted the area in front of him.

She did as she was told as he looked across at her, sensing her awkwardness towards his request. It probably didn't help matters that he was looking intently at her from head to foot, when had she grown into such a voluptuous woman? It was such a stark contrast of how she use to look when she was younger. He felt adrenaline course through him in turn, assuring himself that he was simply looking forward to helping the Hyuga heir and nothing more.

"Now.." He said with a small smirk forming on his lips. "I will not go easy on you." His voice sounding murderous.

Hinata smirked in turn. "You never do."

"I will ask you a series of questions. You will then review the answers and mentally revise if you're following through with what is expected of you as the Hyuga heir."

Hinata blinked. "Neji san, this isn't making sense… Did my father put you up to this?"

"First question! Are you assuring that you constantly comport in a rational manner even if the life of a team mate is at stake?"

"But.."

"Do not answer aloud." He continued. "Answer mentally and if your answer does not compare to past actions, then this is where you must work on strengthening yourself."

She stayed staring at him for a long moment; it caused his stomach to coil in a strange manner. Why was this happening? It was only Hinata, he had been alone with her like this more times than he could count, why was everything so different now?

"This is about Naruto kun isn't it?" She whispered, her face becoming hard.

His facial expressions did not betray the initial shock he received at her astute response. Unlike her usual submissive manner, he had a feeling that this would not end well, and before he could think about it further, she was already standing up and walking away from him, but he quickly stood in her way and in his severe manner leaned down in her face and said: "We are not finished Lady Hinata."

She could feel his breath on her face as she looked up into his eyes, his breathing was off, and his eyes held a strange glare that was otherwise not present. She looked into his eyes, down to his sharp nose and finally to his lips, they looked so soft.  
An instant rush traveled down her spine and felt her face becoming red. She leaned back trying to get away from him but it did no good, he pressed further against her.

"I don't want to do this." She whispered when he was well within her personal space again.

"But we must.." He replied as he inched himself even closer to her person so that he was now hovering above her. "Please think about the good of our clan. Be a leader, make wise decisions! Do not treat yourself so carelessly!"

"It is not careless to want to save the life of a comrade, even if the odds are against you. It is my ninja way Neji san. I will not yield."

That stopped him and after a long moment of simply looking at her, he finally moved away from her.

He said not another word as he got up and began walking away. She watched and wondered where he was walking to as he approached the woods area rather than the branch house where he resided.

"Neji San, where are you going?" She called out to him, but he did not answer and then he leapt in the air and disappeared.

Hinata let out a frustrated sigh. He could be so stubborn when he wanted to be, she didn't understand what was wrong with him lately and it was starting to unease her greatly like when they were children. They had come a long way since then and it terrified her that it seemed like things were going backwards between them. She needed to talk to him when he wasn't in one of his moods.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

He didn't show up for training the next day and Hinata was not surprised. Sometimes he would just disappear and then reappear like he had never been gone, he usually did this when having to deal with a confrontation. She hoped that she had not been the source of it although she already had a feeling that she was. She hated that she caused such negative reactions to erupt from him and the more she thought about it the more she realized that they probably would be better off just being a way from each other for a while maybe after some time had passed things would go back to normal.

She decided she was going to go into town that day; sometimes going to the book store eased her mind. She was walking amongst the crowd of people, many of them carrying and buying supplies as the village still had a long way to go before it even came close to what it once had been.

"Hinata! Hinata!" Someone called to her.

She turned around and her cheeks reddened when she saw it was Sakura, she looked so lovely today, it really wasn't hard to see why Naruto was so hung up on her.

"Hinata," She bowed. "I hope you are well! Lady Tsunade wishes to see you."

Hinata's eyes lit up immediately; maybe she even had a chance to see… "H… Hai!" She said excited and ran in an all out sprint towards Lady Tsunade. Sakura watched the trail of dirt she had left behind and smiled.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

She had received her orders… Not exactly what she was expecting, but she was honored that Lady Tsunade had thought so highly of her. She had done such a good job of tending to the injured during the attack of pain, that Lady Tsunade wanted her to work alongside Sakura.

"Just until things can reach some kind of normalcy, we still have a lot of people who are injured and dealing with secondary issues due to the attack, it will also give you an opportunity to learn more healing techniques since the situation is not going to get any better down the road. I hate to be grim but that is what we're dealing with."

Hinata bowed and accepted the request, it meant time away from things she normally did, it meant time away from Neji as well, perhaps this would work in harmony with the break they needed.


	3. Growing Obsession

Tenten had been watching for about a week now ever since she first detected that Neji was acting differently.  
She was still confused about what was going on, it didn't make sense to her but it was obviously a family issue and when it came to the Hyuga family issues, she knew better than to pry.  
Currently she was hiding behind an abandoned shed, it stunk of rotted wood and moss, but she made due because it was a hideout spot with a good view of where Neji was currently hiding himself. He was standing on one of the higher branches of a tree facing the medical building. He had been coming here around the same time every day for the past week and he'd leave just seconds before Hinata would walk out of the building and head for her own home.

Tenten had simply shaken her head, not understanding what it all meant.

On another occasion, Hinata was by herself in the training area and Tenten was hiding behind a large tree when Hinata suddenly lunged up in the air, attacking what seemed an empty area in a nearby branch.

A few seconds later she could hear a pop and Neji dropped from the tree and stood before Hinata with a slight smirk on his face. "Why didn't you say anything before?" He asked.

"Why have you been following me around?" She asked in turn and then looked at him for a long moment when he didn't answer. "A..Are you still upset with me Neji san?"

He looked up at the darkening skies thinking about it. "I did not come here to discuss my sentiments Lady Hinata; you have been neglecting our training."

"T..That's not fair Neji san! You stood me up!" She retorted. "Besides, Lady Tsunade has given me orders and it interferes with our training time."

"Then we shall train now." He said as he walked up closer to her.

"B…but.. R..right now?"

He didn't answer and poised himself in a fighting stance. Tenten watched in fascination, it was always amazing to see him fight and he was being ruthless, he held nothing back as he fought against Hinata and it wasn't long before she collided face first against his attack and flew backwards, landing on the ground hard. She sat up on the ground, feeling the blood trick down the side of her face. Her eyes were directed towards the pebbles that now lay scattered everywhere. He was angry at her; she could feel it in his fighting. It would be a mistake to 'train' with him now unless she wanted to end up in the medical center as a patient herself.

She got up, dusted herself off, completely ignoring Neji taking his fighting stance again and began walking away.

He was shocked by her reaction, and he didn't like that she was walking away from him.  
"So, you're going to quit after all!" He said angrily and then that didn't work he shouted: "Where are you going?"

"Home" She answered without looking back towards him.

Neji began to grind his teeth together angrily, a growl escaping him. "Am I not good enough to train you anymore?"

Finally Hinata turned around and looked at his heaving chest and angry face, he looked as if he was facing his most hated opponent, and it both unnerved her but excited her senses that she could bring out such emotions in him, but she wasn't stupid, she knew that she shouldn't push him too far.

"Either we talk about why you're so angry with me Neji san or we no longer train, it's as simple as that."

Tenten's eyes opened in alarm. She and Lee san had been right; he was angry with her, but why?

Neji stayed glaring at her. The truth was that there was no plausible excuse he could offer because he didn't really understand himself why he was so angry, and that fact made him all the angrier. He looked up, a low gasp escaping him when he saw Hinata approaching him. He was suddenly unable to move as she got closer, and closer. Things seemed to be happening in slow motion as she extended her arms and wrapped them around him tightly. His hands fidgeted slightly, his left eye tweaked nervously, why was he acting like this?  
The warmth of her body pressed against his was beginning to ease his anger, and finally he allowed himself to hug her back. It felt so good, all of the anger had eventually subsided now and everything in the world was good again even though he'd never voice it.

"I'm sorry…" She whispered in his ear. "Whatever I did to make you angry I'm sorry… I cannot bear us going back to what we were before. I know you don't believe me.." She said as she looked up at him. "But I care about you Neji."

It was bliss the way she had said his name. He suddenly grabbed her face in his hands a bit harsh but she could feel that his anger had subsided. "I want to hear you tell me that you still wish to train with me Lady Hinata, we can change it to accommodate your new schedule, but I must hear you say that you will only train with me."

An odd request since he was the only other person she trained with other than by herself, she was confused by his request.

"I…"

"Tell me!" He said as he brought her face closer to his. "I am the only one you will train with. I want to hear you say it."

"Y..you know that I would only train with you Neji san, no one else."

He sighed heavily and closed his eyes, hugging her tighter.

Tenten watched as Neji wiped the blood off her face with a piece of the cloth he had ripped off his own attire. It was then she decided to turn around and leave for the night for she did not know what to make of their situation and it unsettled her. Neji was acting like a love sick stalker but there had to be a rational explanation for it all.  
She didn't see when Neji leaned in and breathed in Hinata's scent, his nose buried within her hair, nor the way he began to caress the side of her face with his lips and fingers. Hinata allowed it to happen, and even reciprocated his movements but she wasn't sure what it all meant. The only thing she did know is that she didn't hate this extremely rare show of affection from Neji and it actually felt really good. It was probably best not to think about it too much.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

They trained every single day after that during the evenings.  
Hinata noticed how he seemed to be around her almost all of the time now when she wasn't at the medical building or tending to other duties. Gradually he started spending time with her for things other than training, on one occasion he had accompanied her out into the woods to find wild herbs and plants she used to make teas with. They barely spoke but it wasn't really necessary, just being together seemed to be enough. She felt a connection forming between them that was otherwise absent before, and that wasn't to say that she didn't care about him before, but things were different in a way she had trouble explaining.

"Neji san, we're going to the bath house today, want to join us?" Lee and Tenten asked him one day after he had dropped off Hinata at the medical building. He closed his eyes, looking a bit aggravated. "I don't have time." He said flatly.

"Oi! What's wrong with you lately Neji san? We hardly see anything of you anymore!" Tenten whined.

"Don't tell me you're still having family issues!" Lee san bellowed.

Neji sneered at him, how dare he talk about his issues so openly! But then it suddenly dawned on him that it had been a while since they last did anything together and if he continued keeping his distance they would soon pick up on the fact that he spent all his time with Hinata and was neglecting them for her, but he couldn't help it. Lately all he wanted was to be with her, or with no one at all. But he knew that people would talk and the word would get around quickly, he couldn't have that.

He sighed loudly. "On second thought… A soak right about now does sound good." He felt himself reply. He closed his eyes and cringed when he heard them cheer their approval at his change of heart, he just hoped that Lee san wouldn't interrogate him now.


	4. Possesive

Thankfully while they were at the bathhouse Lee didn't mention anything out of the norm; his mind being taken up by a new training technique that was instituted by none other than Guy Sensei. It was nice to soak and relax. He was slightly thankful for the fact that they were so insistent on his coming along. Afterwards they ate at the BBQ place; marbled beef was on special that day and he ended up eating more than he normally would have which led to them sitting around and talking for quite a while. It wasn't until they were standing outside of the restaurant that Neji even bothered to look and see what time it was, his eyes practically bulging. "Impossible, how could so much time have passed?"

Tenten and Lee looked at each other. "What does it matter? Did you have somewhere you needed to be?"

"Lady Hinata's shift ended half an hour ago!" He exclaimed and without saying another word, he hurried towards the direction of the medical building, leaving both Lee and Tenten looking worriedly after him.

As expected, she wasn't anywhere in sight, so he made his way back to the Hyuga compound and found her lying beneath a tree with one arm covering her face. The way that she was laying on the ground gave the impression that she was not alright.

"Lady Hinata!" He exclaimed as he came over to her side.

"Hmmm? " She said as she removed her arm from her face and opened her eyes.

"Are you alright? Lady Hinata?"

"I'm fine." She lied, but he of course knew this the moment the words exited her lips.  
He sat next to her and waited for her to sit up and tell him what was wrong. He didn't have to say it, she could see that he didn't buy it from the severe look upon his face.

"Don't look at me like that Neji San." She said as he cheeks flushed.

He still didn't answer so she sighed loudly. "It was just a very busy day and I'm very tired."

He continued to look at her before he finally spoke. "There's more to it than that, something happened today that disconcerted you."

Another flush of her cheeks gave the affirmation he was looking for. "Lady Hinata, tell me what happened. Are you upset that I was not there to escort you back? I was tied up and when I had arrived you had already left, please forgive me."

Her eyes lit up. "No! Of course not Neji san! You don't really think that I'm oblivious to the fact that you have other things to do than escort me everywhere do you? I am thankful for the fact that you do it, but it's really not necessary."

"Then what is it?" He asked immediately, in a tone that demanded an explanation.

She looked around shyly, one arm rubbing the other and in the process jostling about her overly large breasts in a manner that caused his heart to beat faster, his mouth to go dry, and his skin to flush as well. "One of the patients made a pass at me today while I was examining his wound." She sighed. "But it wasn't so much what he did that upset me rather than what he said, and I don't want to repeat what happened Neji San, I beg you not to make me repeat it!"

"I won't." He replied. "But he was making an advance at you?"

"Y..yes, and he implied that I was a T..tease, and said some other horrible things because I wouldn't reciprocate his advances. Normally I wouldn't care, but then he…Neji san? Where are you going?" She asked and got up when she saw that he had already risen and was walking away.

"I'm going to the medical building and giving this man a real reason to be there." He said as his fists balled up at his sides, small seams of chakra already starting to build.

Panic sprayed across Hinata's face as she stood before him. "Please Neji San! I beg you not to do anything of the sort! I already handled the situation!" She said, but he continued walking. She knew he was capable of finding out who had done this to her, it wouldn't be hard as the list of patients she had seen that day were posted up on the wall, he'd question the staff first and if that didn't give results he'd use his byakugan to seek out the one who still had her chakra remnants. Since she was healing him he'd still be able to see it for the next couple of hours.

"You're taking time and energy to help these people and this is the thanks that they give you! If you won't let me handle him than at least tell Lady Tsunade of what has happened!"

"I can't Neji san! She'll think me incapable of handling my own problems and I can't have that, I'm already seen as weak to everyone as it is!" She was shouting now, he could see that she was frustrated. He knew that he was blowing things out of proportion, but he couldn't help it, nobody touched Lady Hinata, least of all some village bastard who couldn't appreciate a lending hand when it was being offered by the most caring person on the planet.

"Please.." She said again, her hands were on his chest now as she pleaded with him, what was he supposed to say to that?  
He sighed and she felt that he loosened up, his anger starting to subside.

"Fine. I won't end his life only because you have asked me not to."

She sighed in turn. "Thank you."

He was still angry though, she could see the flicker of his eyes and the way he clenched his jaw. She needed to try to get his mind off of things.

"Are we going to train today?" She quickly asked.

"Yes, but today we'll go to the dojo." He looked up towards the skies. "It's going to rain." She looked up as well and realized he was right, grey clouds were forming and the wind had picked up. Normally it wouldn't matter to Neji whether it rained or shined, but he was compelled to keep her confined and safe. It gave him a sense of control over what he had not been able to handle before. They would be alone and away from prying eyes, this gave him a deep sense of indescribable pleasure.

They were only about ten minutes into their training when Hinata hit him with her gentle step twin lion fist and knocked him back hard against the wooden floor. When he didn't rise right away, Hinata discontinued her attack and ran over to him, kneeling at his side and hovering over him so that her face was only inches away from his.

"Neji San? Are you alright? Did I hurt you?"

A slow smile formed on his lips, his left hand rising to caress the side of her face. "You're improving; I didn't even see it coming."

They continued to look at each other, Hinata's face becoming quite red, not so much because she was embarrassed by his compliment but more because of the way he was looking at her. These looks he had been giving her recently were growing increasingly lately and it brought out feelings in her that she was unfamiliar with. She was about to step back and give him some space when he suddenly grabbed by the arms and sat up so that they were facing each other now; his face was inching closer to hers.

"Neji san.." She whispered.

"Just… just let me Lady Hinata. I know you want to too." He whispered back and pecked her lips with his tentatively at first but the kiss became bolder quickly as he held her close, relishing in being with her in this way. The way her arms enfolded his body so tightly was the most enthralling sounds of their breathing became louder as they experimented kissing with one another, Neji's hands held her face as if she were the most precious thing on Earth.

"Hinata.." He whispered as he looked into her eyes and continued to kiss her now swollen lips. She opened her mouth slightly as she let out a low moan and he took the opportunity then to meld his tongue with hers, the feeling then was nothing like he had ever experienced before. This is what he had been wanting, what he had needed. There was no going back after this; she would be his totally and completely.

Overcome with the realization of his new found emotions, he became a bit aggressive as he tried to scoot her up against the wall, his hand cascading gently from her face and traveling down to the zipper of her jacket and pulling it down.  
A gasp escaped her when she realized he wanted to go further and she simply was not ready. This was all too new for her. It felt surprisingly pleasurable to share in this way with Neji, but she wasn't ready for what he was obviously wanting, and they would need to talk about this; what was happening between them?

"Ne… Neji san no!" She said when she felt his hand already slipping inside her jacket. He was now kissing her neck and he suddenly bit her there hard; she gasped and pulled back from him completely, her hand covering the bite area that would no doubt start to show in a few minutes.

He looked up at her with wide eyes as if realizing for the first time what had happened.

He looked at the floor for several seconds before he got up and held his hand out to her. Nervously, she took it and tried to look away from him but his hand came up under her chin and moved it towards him.

"I went too far; please forgive me."

She shook her head.. "I just.. I'm not ready Neji sa.."

"I know.." He added quickly. "We should leave, we've been here a while and they'll come looking for us."

She nodded and followed him out in silence, both of them trying to make sense of what had happened.


	5. It's nobody's business

**Short chapter here but I wanted to leave you all something before leaving town for a short vacation. More to come!**

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A couple of days had gone by since the incident and Neji could tell that Hinata was acting differently towards him. He had let his urges get the better of him and he had scared her, it's as if they were going backwards and he wasn't going to stand for it, but he wasn't really the kind to sit down and talk about his feelings either. He wanted so badly to relive what had happened that evening in the dojo that it robbed him of all other thoughts and he hated the fact that just one instance had so much control over his every day affairs.

That afternoon when he was heading towards the medical building to escort her to have their training session, he saw her talking to none other than Naruto. He froze momentarily, his heart beating faster and his fists starting to ball up at his sides. Blindly he marched over to where they were, he watched as they were laughing and going on like love struck fools, it made him feel physically ill.

"Oi Neji! What a surprise!" Naruto said with that foolish grin on his face. Funny, up until recently Neji had thought to end all hard feelings towards Naruto, especially since he had in fact been the one to save the village, and even though he knew that he was acting irrational towards him, it still didn't deter him from making it known that it was not alright for him to be so friendly with Hinata.

"I've come to get Lady Hinata." He said with a serious look on his face.

That statement however had been like feeding fuel to the flame for Naruto eyes lit up and he began giggling as he use to when he was a child and planning some horrid scheme. "So… it is official that you guys are an item!"

Hinata's already flushed cheeks grew redder as she tried to cover her face. "That's… um…" Was all she was able to reply.

"What of it?" Neji replied with full authority. "Whatever Lady Hinata and I choose to be is nobody's business. I don't see how it matters."

Naruto's eyes narrowed and his mouth shut immediately bringing a triumphant grin to Neji's face. "Wow, that was meant as a joke, I didn't think you'd, but aren't you? I mean… That's kind of.." Naruto said as he scratched his head and tried to make sense of it all.

"Like I said, it's nobody's business but our own." He said as he nudged Hinata to begin walking in the direction of the training grounds.

Naruto watched as they left and eventually Tenten and Lee joined him. "So, it's true then." Naruto said as he continued to watch their disappearing forms.

"You're so gullible Naruto." Tenten replied obviously irritated. "He only said that to you to confuse you, of course they're not a couple!"

"Then why was he so angry when he saw us together?"

"His task is to protect her, to guard her, and you're always in some kind of trouble! I'm sure that's all there is to it." Lee said as he nodded. "Neji has never struck me as the type that would fall in love or anything like that, he seems like he will always be a loner."

Tenten rolled her eyes. "Unless the right person comes along obviously!"

Naruto watched them talk back and forth but they had not seen the venomous look in his eyes, they had not felt the strong possessive wave emanating off of Neji as it wrapped itself around Hinata as if saying: "Mine" but this was a touchy subject and something told him that it was better if he simply dropped the subject altogether, in essence Neji had been right, it wasn't anyone's business what they did.

"So who's up for Ramen?" Naru interrupted as he folded his hands behind his back and smiled widely as he walked towards the Ichiraku stand.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

"Why did you say that to him?!" Hinata asked when they were finally alone.

"I don't like the way he looks at you." Was all he replied.

"I appreciate you looking out for me Nejisan but I'm not your property! Are you going to do that every time you see me talking to a man?"

Neji turned around swiftly, a shiver ran down her spine when his eyes bore deeply into hers, she was paralyzed and powerless to do anything when his lips crashed upon hers. It wasn't long before their tongues melted together in heated bliss. She had forgotten how good it had felt, she had forgotten what this sensation did to her and she let it happen. She let Neji caress her face, her arms and she wanted him to continue further.

He suddenly pulled away, leaving her wanting more, he could see the frustration clearly on her face. "You can either accept what is happening or not, either way it's still going to happen." He said.

Hinata was still breathing hard, her eyes looking at his with intensity. She looked as if she wanted to say something but she didn't. It was no matter, he knew that she would when she was ready to come to terms with what they had.

"I don't want to see you alone with him again." He said with finality before he turned around and once again led the way to the training grounds.


	6. On A Mission

Neji placed a hand over Hinata's mouth as she let out a loud whimper, his lips having hit a rather sensitive spot near her neck. His one hand cradled the back of her head while the other rubbed the small of her back.

He wasn't really sure how they had ended up like this once again in the corner of the dojo. The last he could remember was that he had blocked one of her attacks but in the process stumbled backwards and brought her down with him although, perhaps it wasn't as unprecedented as he was trying to convince himself of especially since it seemed to happen almost every single time that they trained for the past three days. They would have to eventually go back to training outdoors or people would question why they were suddenly always in the dojo. He didn't really know what any of this was leading to, or what this signified between him and Hinata, but he knew he didn't want it to end. It was something that he had started but he had not meant for it to become a need. Her touch, her stare, her presence was becoming a constant need and he wasn't sure what to do about it.

The look in her eyes and the small beads of sweat that ran down her face when she was becoming worked up from their training would unravel him and he'd lose control and then they'd end up as they were now, kissing ardently but never quite daring to go past the caresses and kisses. After all was said and done he respected her, and he would never dare to do something she was not prepared for, he had felt bad enough after what had occurred the first time where he had almost lost himself in his passion for her. He sucked in a breath when he felt her bite the area between his neck and collar bone. He didn't mind it, the marks she left behind served as a reminder that she needed him just as much as he needed her.

Before they left the dojo, he looked into her eyes and she looked into his. Neither of them said anything, they never did and once their feet collided with the grassy outside area, they were back to just being Hyuga clan members. He'd walk a few feet ahead of her and he'd make sure she'd enter her home safely before he retreated to his; alone, without her.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

His group was called in by Lady Tsunade that night; they were to leave for a mission at once. Lee and Guy Sensei of course were as excitable as ever, Tenten was yelling at them to keep it down for fear of waking up the entire village but apparently she failed to realize that her own yelling was adding to the mix. He closed his eyes and sighed in an exasperated manner. Lady Hinata did not know that he was going to be leaving on a mission and he wondered what her reaction would be when she found the note he had left behind for her.

Hinata sighed as she sat by herself in the outside area of the dojo, she missed Neji a lot more than she thought she would. She lifted her head and looked up at the building and blushed deeply as the memories of what they'd done began to flash in her mind.  
She pulled out the note he had left for her, it was already beginning to wear from all the times she had read it already.

It was odd, she never thought she'd be sitting there pining for her own clan member, it had always been Naruto, he had always been the center of her universe for as long as she could remember but she could feel that things were changing. Naruto's smiling face was now being replaced by Neji's somber glance and she was unsure of what it all meant. Most of all it was frustrating because she never really knew where she stood with Neji, what was this 'thing' leading up to?

She didn't really know, what she did know was that she couldn't wait until he got back.

OoOoOoOooOoOoOoO

He found himself thinking about her often, even as he fought in combat, her face would appear in his mind and he'd remember their training, he found that thinking of her actually improved his combat ability which Guy Sensei was sure to mention afterwards.

"The power of youth! You are becoming better with every passing day Neji!" He had congratulated him with a bright smile and thumbs up.

He could see the fire burning in both his Sensei's eyes as well as in Lee's right before they hit the floor and began vigorous one-handed push up training before going to bed. Neji however had no interest in training as he was tired from the day's events. He looked over and saw that Tenten had already crashed for the night and he had in mind to do the same, but before he did, his mind drifted towards Lady Hinata. He wondered what she was doing, wondered how things would be between them once he got back. What if she no longer wanted him? He fidgeted in his sleeping bag and sighed loudly, he didn't know why that thought had upset him so much, but what he did know is that if that were to happen, he'd do whatever was necessary to change her mind.  
Again, his mind never delved into romantic notions or any such sentimentality; he just wanted her plain and simple and there was nothing else to it, anything else at this point was unacceptable.

They were attacked that night, and the enemy was fighting fervently. His opponent was skilled at Gen Jutsu and he quickly realized he was by no means dealing with a group of novices, these ninja's meant business.

A drop of blood cascaded down his arm, his sleeve had been ripped clean off and had he not moved at the precise moment, the sleeve would have been his entire arm. At the moment he didn't realize it but the gash on his arm had been quite deep. It wasn't until he had finally defeated his opponent and was beginning to lose consciousness that he realized the severity of his situation. Off in the blurred distance he could see Tenten yelling and running towards him, but in his eyes Tenten had suddenly turned into his lady Hinata. Lady Hinata was suddenly the one running towards him, her long hair swishing behind her, she was so beautiful that it hurt to think about it. He felt her arms encase him as he closed his eyes, the last word he whispered before he completely lost consciousness was her name.


	7. She Loves You

His vision was blurry when he first opened his eyes.

Off in the distance he could just make out distinct sounds, someone had opened and then shut a door, he could also make out low mumbles of people whispering to one another, he had obviously survived but the question was; where was he?

The last he could remember was fighting because they had been ambushed, he remembered having his arm injured, he then tried to turn his head to see how his arm had held up but was then struck by a wave of pain. He groaned loudly and then pushed his head back, it was then that he realized that he was lying in a bed, not the most comfortable one he'd ever been on, but it indicated to him that they had been rescued which was a relief.

He then began to wonder how long he had been out and where he was exactly. His mind tried to remember the past occurrence; he was starting to lose consciousness when he had seen Hinata running towards him.

Hinata! She probably had no idea about what had happened! He suddenly sat up abruptly in his bed which only served to bring about an even greater wave of pain, this time he let out a yell and then turned towards his right side, waiting for the pain to subside.

There were footsteps approaching, finally; he'd find out where he was, and how long he had been there.

"Neji san, you have finally woken!"

Instantly he recognized the voice, causing him to turn towards it so sharply that he again felt a wave of pain, but this time he ignored it, the pain being overridden by his desire to see her, there before him stood Hinata and it was as if a huge weight had just fallen off his shoulders.

He tried to lift his arms to reach of her but this time he couldn't ignore the pain and cringed in discomfort.

"Please try not to move!" She said as she came around to his side.

"It took me a long time to heal you, please concentrate on healing your body!" She said as she wrapped more bandages around his arm.

"I… … I Want to feel you Lady Hinata…" He felt himself say. He closed his eyes and groaned, it sound as if he was begging, but he couldn't help it, right now he wanted physical proof that she was really there and that this wasn't just some crazy dream he was having. He was safe, she was there, and they were together again; that's all the affirmation he really needed at this point.

She took his hand in his and gave it a tender grasp, and she saw that this wasn't enough for him, she carefully wrapped her arms around his neck and gave him an embrace that lasted several minutes. She could feel his hand trying to inch it's way to her hair, so she moved her head to accommodate him. He inhaled her scent deeply and closed his eyes, relishing in the fact that she was in his arms again, not thinking about why this meant so much to him, and what this would mean for them in the future, he was simply in the now at this point and he endeavored to make the most of it.

"The rest of your team was here earlier, they've been very worried about your well-being."

He wanted to tell her that he didn't care about them visiting right now, that all he had been thinking about was her, but he couldn't, it just wasn't his way, so he remained quiet and continued to rub his hand against her back as much as it would allow him to without hurting.

She slowly got up and looked at him with a smile on her face. "Please tell me how you're feeling."

"My left side hurts, especially my arm." He replied.

"Yes, that is to be expected, you will have to stay here and recover for some time; I will be here to ensure you're healing properly."

That was of course precisely what he had wanted to hear, but he wouldn't let on. "Lady Hinata, I could not ask that of you."

"Do not try to argue with me about this Neji san, I will be at your side and that is final." She then picked up a clip board that had been previously placed on the table beside his bed and began writing as she looked at his injuries. It was then when he realized that he was in a separate room which was a luxury considering the state of ruin the village was still in and usually it was 4 to a room.

"Why are there not others here?" He asked.

"Because…" She said without looking up from her clipboard. "I made special arrangements for you."

"Lady Hina…."

"Don't!" she interrupted. " I know what I'm doing, all you have to do is concentrate on getting well."

"How long have I been here?" He asked.

"Three days." She answered.

"Was I the only one in my team who was injured?"

"This severely yes, you lost a lot of blood Neji san I was…. We were all extremely worried when you first came in. Especially Tenten, she stayed by your side for more than a day, when I tried to get her to get cleaned up and eat something she grew quite aggressive towards me."

Neji rolled his eyes. "She has a tendency to be that way at times…"

"I think it's more than that… "

Neji blinked and then turned to face her. "What do you mean?"

"You really don't know?" Hinata asked in amusement.

"Know what?" He asked, sincerely not knowing where she was going with this.

"She loves you Neji san."

He stilled. A few seconds went by and there was still no reaction from him and to be frank, Hinata wasn't really expecting one so she placed her clipboard under her arm and quickly changed the subject.

"You need to eat something and then rest, I'll go inform the senior medical ninja on call that you're awake now."

He nodded and then watched her leave, her words repeating in his mind over and over again. He sighed as he moved his head to the side looking towards the sunlight. The truth was that he had suspected that Tenten had strong feelings for him that extended that of fellow comrades but he never really paid much attention to it. He saw her as a good friend, a competent ninja, but nothing beyond that. He didn't feel the need to see her, touch her, and be with her like he did when it came to Hinata.

What he felt for Hinata was like an unrelenting fire within him, and anything or anyone that tried to interfere with them being together would feel the burn of said fire, but he didn't really know what it meant, and to truth be told, he didn't really want to have to deal with any of it but it was there and he couldn't help himself.

It hurt his head to think about it so he shut his eyes and a few minutes later he had fallen asleep.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Hinata watched as Neji slept, a look of concern on her face despite the fact that he was healing very well. She didn't tell him but he had been dangerously close to losing his arm.  
She also hadn't meant to tell him about Tenten but everything just sort of came out, and the truth was that she was curious to see how he would react and he had in fact acted in the very manner she knew he would.

She couldn't deny however that there was that part of her that wondered if he had in fact ever contemplated Tenten as more than just a fellow comrade, perhaps they had previously had some kind of relationship that she had never known about and Tenten still had feelings for him. She didn't know the specifics of it, but what she did know is that Tenten had been venomous towards her and she had a feeling that it wasn't going to calm down anytime soon.


	8. Nobody else but you

It came to no surprise that Neji would be a genius even when it came to healing. He only stayed two more nights before he was cleared to go home with certain restrictions in his daily activities.  
Tenten never came by again to check up on him, and Hinata couldn't help but feel bad about it. They might not be on the same team but they were still fellow shinobi and that kind of attitude shouldn't exist between them.

Hinata followed through with her promise to Neji and hardly ever left his side. For the most part it had been great to be able to look after him for once and she was surprised to discover a playful side of him she had not seen in a long time.

It happened when she was helping him disrobe so that he could bathe. She knew he wouldn't be able to with only one functional hand so she helped pull it off while trying to act as professionally as possible; that was until he invited her to bathe with him.  
It happened so suddenly and was so unexpected that all she could was stand there with her mouth open. Her cheeks flushed violently at his comment and she was rendered absolutely speechless.

"What?" He asked looking absolutely serious. "We use to all the time when we were children."

"W..W..We are not children anymore Nejisan." She finally got out, as she looked around to make sure nobody had been walking by and heard him.

"I know that." He replied. He couldn't help but enjoy teasing her in this way even though if she had suddenly agreed to it, he wouldn't be against following through.

"It's part of your duty isn't it? How else will you ensure that I'm absolutely clean?"

"I…. not that… I can't!"

"Fine." He had said as he suddenly disrobed in front of her and caused her to yelp and cover her eyes although it was pretty pointless, in those few seconds she had seen everything.

She had dodged his advance this time but she knew that it wouldn't be the last time he'd suggest something like it, and if she was truly honest with herself, a part of her wanted him to do it but she just didn't like not knowing what this was all leading to. Was she just a means of amusement now and when he grew bored he'd go back to treating her like dirt? She knew it would come up eventually and when it did, she didn't know how she'd react to his answer.

Once he had been sent home, she took care of him every spare moment she had. The first evening after she had made him tea, she began to gather her things to leave to her own home. He watched her and felt his stomach knot up and before he knew what he was doing, he had said to her: "You should at least drink some tea with me before you go."  
She turned away from her bag and looked at him, he was trying his best to remain impassive but she could see in his eyes that he didn't want her to leave yet.

"It's getting late though Nejisan; I promise to be back early in the morning."

When he didn't answer, she smiled and dropped the bandages she was holding and made her way towards him.

"Why don't you just ask me to say Nejisan? We both know that's what you really want; isn't it?"

He sighed in an aggravated manner, she hoped this wasn't the beginning of an argument between them, things had been going so well, but the truth was that she was growing frustrated of not knowing where she stood with him and he'd probably never tell her.

"If we're going to talk about what I really want Lady Hinata; I think it best if you prepare yourself." He replied in a grave manner.

"Prepare myself for what? I'm not in the mood for your mind games right now Neji! Why can't you just once tell me straight out what you feel? Haven't I proven to you time and time again that you can be forthright with me? What's stopping you? Perhaps a guilty conscience regarding Tenten!"

He suddenly strode up to her; his rising from the seat was so abrupt that he knocked over the steaming cup of tea. Unknowingly she was walking backwards until he had her cornered against the wall and she was once again helpless to do anything about it.

"It has nothing to do with games Hinata! You are Hyuga as am I and we will be bound together one way or another there is no escaping it! I think you know full well there has never been anything between Tenten and I except camaraderie, she is my team mate and that is all. The past that you and I share however… Our past has defined us Hinata, made us aware that we are nothing without each other. We challenge one another, and…"

He was leaning closer to her; his lips grazed the tip of her ear and caused a quiver to travel down her spine. It was amazing how he had barely touched her and already she was trembling.

"and absolutely no one is going to interfere with what we have!" He whispered as he moved in completely and captured her lips with his.

He was pleasantly surprised when she kissed back ardently, her fingers running through his soft hair and undoing his hair tie in the process. If his arm had been well, he'd have carried her back to his room but instead they slowly fell against the wall, kissing and exploring each other in a way they had not been able to in quite some time. Funny how with just a few clarifying words things had changed so drastically and she found herself suddenly willing to give in to whatever he wanted. It was his way; he had always possessed her in one way or another. It seemed that that would always been their history.

"Stay" He whispered in her ear.

She felt herself nodding, knowing that there would be no going back.

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**I'm going to end it here but please leave me your thoughts as to whether you'd like for me to start another story that would be a continuation!**


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